Irish Living: Downsizing made easy

The property boom has reached the playhouse  a place where imagination is the only limitation, as COLIN COYLE discovers

The lowest rung of the property ladder has just got an awful lot lower. A Co Wicklow company has launched a range of Lilliputian properties: they’re bijou, can be built in any part of the country and don’t need planning permission. If only they weren’t just 8ft x 4ft.

These scaled-down, custom-built Wendy houses are the brainchild of Graeme Bird, a set designer from Enniskerry.

“I felt there was a gap in the market for really beautiful playhouses for children,” he says. “They look great in the garden, kids love them and you won’t have to take a 100% mortgage to afford one,” he says.

These properties may be pint-sized but they are not cut-price. The cheapest model, the Irish Country Cottage, starts at €3,995, while the more imposing Woodland Cottage has a €4,295 price tag — and that’s without any of the dainty interior flourishes. If you’d like a traditional